Protecting God's Work
Romans 14:20a: "For meat destroy not the work of God…"
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if we are not careful, we will destroy the very thing which we think we are protecting! The “issue” of the day during the time in which Paul wrote the book of Romans was whether or not Christians should eat meat that had been offered unto idols. Although that is no longer an issue for the modern church, we can take a principle from this text which can be applied to any “issue” in our day which seems to bring contention, strife, or confusion to the body of Christ.
Some argue over music, some over clothing, some over hair length or style, some over this or that; you name it, in every camp or denomination, there always seems to be someone making such a big deal over the “meat” issue, that they miss the whole point, destroying the work of God rather than building it up. I ask you this; would you even think about disciplining an infant for making a mess of things? Would you not rather raise him up in a loving environment where he is supported and trained as he develops and matures in age? As we would do in the natural, so we should do in the spiritual!
If you see a brother or sister who is weak in one area or another, consider the fact that they probably don’t need a rebuke as much as they need a safe environment where they are loved, accepted, and given a chance to grow and mature with age and experience. Maybe, just MAYBE, we can win their respect AND give them a reason to want to come back around us when we take this approach! Too many times we are careless in our approach with others, especially when it comes to our own particular religious dogma, whatever that may be; it’s different for everyone.
We all have our pets of religious ideology, which if the truth be known, are primarily for cosmetics anyway. No one really lives up to what they expect everyone else to live up to. We only verbalize our expectations to pretend like we have it all together! LET’S GET REAL!! Do not destroy the work of God by destroying the trust of people around you. Earn their trust, even if it means dropping that “issue” that you got so worked up about! If you do this, you will be able to make a MUCH bigger impact for Christ in their lives than you ever could have just harping about that “meat”!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if we are not careful, we will destroy the very thing which we think we are protecting! The “issue” of the day during the time in which Paul wrote the book of Romans was whether or not Christians should eat meat that had been offered unto idols. Although that is no longer an issue for the modern church, we can take a principle from this text which can be applied to any “issue” in our day which seems to bring contention, strife, or confusion to the body of Christ.
Some argue over music, some over clothing, some over hair length or style, some over this or that; you name it, in every camp or denomination, there always seems to be someone making such a big deal over the “meat” issue, that they miss the whole point, destroying the work of God rather than building it up. I ask you this; would you even think about disciplining an infant for making a mess of things? Would you not rather raise him up in a loving environment where he is supported and trained as he develops and matures in age? As we would do in the natural, so we should do in the spiritual!
If you see a brother or sister who is weak in one area or another, consider the fact that they probably don’t need a rebuke as much as they need a safe environment where they are loved, accepted, and given a chance to grow and mature with age and experience. Maybe, just MAYBE, we can win their respect AND give them a reason to want to come back around us when we take this approach! Too many times we are careless in our approach with others, especially when it comes to our own particular religious dogma, whatever that may be; it’s different for everyone.
We all have our pets of religious ideology, which if the truth be known, are primarily for cosmetics anyway. No one really lives up to what they expect everyone else to live up to. We only verbalize our expectations to pretend like we have it all together! LET’S GET REAL!! Do not destroy the work of God by destroying the trust of people around you. Earn their trust, even if it means dropping that “issue” that you got so worked up about! If you do this, you will be able to make a MUCH bigger impact for Christ in their lives than you ever could have just harping about that “meat”!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill